Family of man injured in 2011 confrontation with Holden PD sues the town

Tuesday

Apr 22, 2014 at 3:16 PMApr 22, 2014 at 3:23 PM

By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — The family of a 76-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease who was injured in a July 7, 2011, confrontation with Holden police has filed a negligence suit against the town.

Arnold E. Goodhile, of 25 Manning St. in the Jefferson section of Holden, suffered scrapes and bruises and a cut on his elbow when a police officer struck him with a baton after Mr. Goodhile failed to comply with the officer's commands to drop a sheathed knife he was carrying, according to the civil lawsuit.

The suit, filed March 21 in Worcester Superior Court by Cynthia A. Goodhile, Mr. Goodhile's wife and the personal representative of his estate, alleges that Mr. Goodhile "never fully recovered from the confusion and disorientation that descended upon him when he was beaten" and died in a nursing home on Sept. 17, 2011.

The suit alleges that Police Officer Anthony Gribbons and dispatcher David Glasberg were negligent in connection with the incident and that their superiors in the police department were negligent in their training and supervision of the two men.

The town has not yet filed an answer to the suit, which was filed on behalf of Mr. Goodhile's estate by Southboro lawyer David J. Officer.

According to the lawsuit, Mr. Goodhile left his home on the morning of July 7, 2011, carrying a fishing knife in a sheath. Concerned about the knife and the that fact her husband did not respond when she asked where he was going, Mrs. Goodhile called police.

She said in the lawsuit that she made the call so officers could check on Mr. Goodhile, speak to him and return him home if necessary.

Mr. Goodhile walked to nearby Goodhile's Variety, a store run by his family, and did not threaten or menace anyone there, according to the suit.

Mr. Glasberg, the police dispatcher on duty, took Mrs. Goodhile's call and sent officers to the scene, the suit states.

It alleges that Mr. Glasberg negligently failed to inform the officers that Mr. Goodhile suffered from Alzheimer's. The suit further alleges that the dispatcher negligently told the officers that Mrs. Goodhile reported her husband was suicidal and "might do harm to himself."

Mrs. Goodhile maintains she never told Mr. Glasberg her husband was suicidal or that she was concerned he might injure himself.

Mr. Goodhile came out of the store and was walking across the parking lot toward his home when he was confronted by Officer Gribbons, who had his service revolver drawn, according to the suit. Two additional officers arrived in a second cruiser.

Officer Gribbons repeatedly ordered Mr. Goodhile to drop the knife. When he did not do so, Officer Gribbons came up behind him and struck Mr. Goodhile with a baton on the arm and legs. Mr. Goodhile dropped the sheathed knife and was handcuffed and dragged across the parking lot, according to the suit.

One of the officers called for an ambulance and Mr. Goodhile, "confused and disoriented," was taken to the hospital, the suit states.

He never returned home, according to his family. He spent several weeks at Clinton Hospital and was then placed in St. Mary Health Care Center in Worcester, where he developed infections and possible pneumonia, they said.

The suit alleges he never fed himself again, had to use a wheelchair, became withdrawn and no longer communicated "due to the incident."

Mr. Goodhile suffered "great pain and emotional distress" because of the negligent acts and omissions of Officer Gribbons, Mr. Glasberg and the town, according to the suit. It accuses the town of negligence in its training and supervision of the two men.

"Glasberg was improperly trained in his duties as a dispatcher to convey true and accurate information. Gribbons was negligently trained in the use of force and in interaction with Alzheimer's patients," the suit alleges.

It seeks unspecified monetary damages. According to a cover sheet accompanying the suit, Mr. Goodhile incurred more than $95,000 in medical expenses and another $12,412 in nursing home and ambulance costs.

"I can say that we will be denying the allegations that have been made, and we will be defending the town against the allegations in court, and we feel that the officers acted appropriately and constitutionally," said Town Manager Jacquelyn Kelly.

Police Chief David A. Armstrong declined to comment.

Lawyer Stephen F. Madaus, town counsel for Holden, said he did not represent the town in the matter and that a lawyer for the town's insurance company would be defending the lawsuit.

Chief Armstrong's predecessor, George A. Sherrill, defended his department's handling of the encounter before retiring earlier this year.

"From what I've seen, everything fell within the guidelines for use of force," he told the Telegram & Gazette in 2011, noting that Mr. Goodhile was carrying a knife and refused to drop it. He acknowledged that Mrs. Goodhile told the dispatcher her husband had Alzheimer's, but said she also related in her call that he was "out of control."

District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. conducted an investigation and issued a March 23, 2012, report clearing police of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with the confrontation.